1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to protection of health care personnel engaged in venipuncture or arterial puncture procedures. In particular, the invention relates to a shield and method for protecting medical personnel from the possibility of contact with a patient's body fluids during procedures that involve penetration of a vein or artery.
2. Discussion of Background
Devices such as hypodermic syringes and catheters are used for drawing blood from a patient for testing purposes, for intravenous administration of nutrients and medication, for monitoring blood pressure and blood gas, and so forth. Use of these devices frequently exposes medical practitioners to the patient's blood. For example, when using a conventional syringe to draw blood from a patient, the practitioner inserts the needle into a vein and retracts a plunger to create a vacuum inside the syringe. The vacuum causes blood to flow through the needle and into the body of the syringe. The needle is withdrawn after sufficient blood has been received in the syringe, often resulting in blood spurting out of the puncture site under pressure. Some blood may remain on the outer surface of the needle; some may spurt upwards onto the face or body of the practitioner.
Whenever a medical practitioner draws blood from a patient, there exists the possibility of contact with the blood leading to transmission of infectious or contagious diseases. This possibility is also present during other medical procedures that may involve contact with the patient's body fluids or tissues. Substances of concern include blood, saliva and other body fluids, small particles of skin, fat or muscle tissue, bone particles, and so forth. Such substances may carry hepatitis, acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), or other transmittable diseases. The substances may come into contact with an open cut, a mucous membrane, or the like of the practitioner such that he or she becomes infected or contaminated by the substances.
Medical personnel generally use surgical garments and masks for protection. "Moon suits" provide full-body coverage, but are cumbersome for use in performing routine tasks and minor surgical procedures. Typically, the practitioner's eyes and other exposed parts are not protected from contact with fluids in the form of airborne sprays, streams, or splashes.
A number of devices are available for use in making injecting or drawing blood safer. Columbus, et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 5,015,228) describes a device that prevents the spread of blood-borne diseases such as AIDS to hospital workers drawing blood. The needle is pushed through a "shield" made of a hydrogel laced with agar and copolymer of acrylamide crosslinked with a monomer. Figge (U.S. Pat. No. 2,814,294) teaches a pad with a central "placque" made of foam sponge for controlling bleeding during and immediately after injections, but not for protecting hospital workers. Grubb (U.S. Pat. No. 3,490,448) discloses a bandage that controls bleeding incident to an injection or taking a blood sample.
Various other devices are applied to the patient in connection with an injection or drawing blood to facilitate the procedure but not necessarily to protect medical personnel. These include a device for covering the tip of a needle to prevent "needle stick" (Golden, U.S. Pat. No. 4,755,170); a pair of plates or "ribs" that help to hold a vein in place for drawing blood (Loving, U.S. Pat. No. 4,314,568); a method of drawing blood from an infant's femoral artery using a device that assures that the needle is held at an optimum angle and pressure is applied to the skin (Edwards, U.S. Pat. No. 3,961,622); a clamp for elevating muscle tissue for an injection done by the patient (Boothby, U.S. Pat. No. 3,760,803); a template for making a series of injections over an area of the body such as might be done in the case of diabetes or allergy tests (Keeth, U.S. Pat. No. 4,362,157). These devices do not protect medical personnel from contact with blood or other body fluids.
Other devices that provide a physical barrier generally are obtrusive or do not prevent the escape of fluids. Thus, Schoolman (U.S. Pat. No. 4,936,318) provides a device that is placed between the face and hands of the practitioner. The device includes a transparent shield and a vacuum that aspirates blood and other fluids entrained in air to prevent the spread of AIDS. The shield is held on a frame that supports it above a patient on whom some procedure is being performed.
There is a need for a protective device that allows medical personnel to have relatively unobstructed manual access to a patient while minimizing the possibility of contact with the patient's blood. The device should be simple and inexpensive to manufacture, sterilizable, and usable in a wide range of medical procedures by either right-handed or left-handed users.